Full electrified vehicle technical and safety regulations have been issued for the first time by Motorsport UK, the country’s motorsport governing body.
The regulations come as part of Motorsport UK’s focus on creating a sustainable future for the sport, and has formed a key part of its investment in innovation.
Clear plans are now available to roll out training and allow regulations to be implemented. Motorsport UK reckons it is the first motorsport national governing body to fully develop regulations in this area.
The framework caters for all types of electrified vehicle, including full-electric, plug-in hybrid, and conventional hybrid. The regulations will allow Motorsport UK to create new categories for motorsport competition in future.
Regulations will allow grassroots-level racing for standard production electric and electrified vehicles to compete unmodified in disciplines that allow standard road cars – for example, Sprint and Hill-climb road car categories, or Autotests and Autosolos.
The regulations will also cater for modified production and bespoke competition electrified vehicles, while discipline-specific sporting regulations will determine which categories of EV can compete in which disciplines.
As increasing numbers of road cars are going electric, the move to allow them to be raced with a clear set of regulations is another key move in encouraging widespread uptake of plug-in vehicles.
Electric power is nothing new in motorsport, with Formula E the clear pinnacle of electric racing currently, and recent top-level Le Mans and endurance racing cars have hybrid units, from the likes of Toyota, Audi, and Porsche. Formula 1 also employs hybrid power across the entire grid.
Motor racing has long been a crucible for innovation, with many systems found on road cars having been developed on the track. This new framework from Motorsport UK looks further than just top-level racing, and aims to encourage electrified vehicles further down the ladder at a national level – crucial considering the UK’s important position within international motorsport.
